Mayor and
City
Council Show full Support
for
National
Breast
Cancer Awareness Month

Recognizing the need for breast cancer awareness and early detection,
Mayor .Mike Morrison proclaimed October to be "Mammography-Breast Cancer
Month for the City of Waco." The mayor took this action because each year
in the state of Texas 2,800 women die of breast cancer and more than
11,300 will be diagnosed.

However, with more effort focused on awareness and education, women
will learn that breast cancer is almost 100 percent curable when detected
early. Mayor Morrison is committed to increasing .awareness and education
for all women .of the City of Waco.

Breast Cancer Screening for the
Underserved

Under the leadership of Mayor Morrison and the Waco City Council, the
Waco-McLennan County Public Health District refers low-income women who
have given birth to Planned Parenthood, which includes breast cancer
screening in its .services. Low-income women who have never given birth
are referred to the .Family Practice Center for primary care that includes
screening for breast cancer.

Educating Women

Health district staff visited senior citizen centers in the county to
educate senior women on early detection and education. The purpose was to
let them know that beast cancer does not affect just young women; in fact,
it affects older women more frequently than their younger
counterparts.

Two additional presentations focused on specific aspects of breast
cancer and were open to the general public as luncheon/ forums,
underwritten by two pharma-.ceutical companies. Cosponsors of these .two
events were: the American Cancer Society; Brazos Area Health Education
Center; Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center; Providence Healthcare Network;
and Waco-McLennan County Public Health District.

The first session focused on "Options After Surgery" with Carlos
Encarnacion, M. D., as the featured speaker. Held at Hillcrest Baptist
Medical Center, 44 women attended the luncheon and discussed their
concerns. At the second .session, Robin Young, M.D., discussed
"Multi-Cultural Risk Factors of Breast Cancer" with the 120 women who
attended this luncheon at Providence Healthcare Network. These two forums
were so successful that a similar event in early 2000 will address ovarian
cancer.

The health district credits the high attendance at the luncheon/forums
to advance advertising that included:

front-page notice in the "Upcoming Events" box of the local
newspaper,

The Waco Tribune
Herald
;

notices in the bulletins of African American churches; and

flyers widely disseminated throughout the
community.

Gift Baskets

Community gift baskets were placed in strategic city and county
facilities to spread awareness about breast cancer to Waco women and
others visiting these sites. Each basket contained American Cancer Society
literature on mammography, breast examinations, and fibrocystic breasts, a
"shower" card on how to do breast self-exams, and the well-recognized pink
ribbon pin. The literature was in both English and Spanish and was
designed to target women across cultural lines.

Mall Kiosk

The management of a local shopping mall generously donated advertising
space in a center kiosk in a prime pedestrian area for the month of
October. Posters, gift baskets, and information on breast cancer awareness
and early detection – all encouraging breast .cancer screening – were
displayed.

Future Plans

Future plans for breast cancer awareness .for the City of Waco
include:

low-cost mammograms;

pink wreath ceremony;

additional presentations on .breast cancer awareness and .early
detection; and

future proclamations.

With Mayor Morrison’s support, .the City of Waco is striving for
greater awareness, early detection, and increased screening for
women.